Media Final Task
Edited Version
Uncut Version
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My thriller does deviate from typical thriller conventions by having a protagonists who does not fit the stereotypical look of a thriller protagonist. Usually thriller protagonists are stereotyped as either tough hardened people who have seen plenty of violence and other horrible things, or as people who have a dark and mysterious past, this allows audiences to become more involved in a thrillers story as not only are they trying to figure out the main plot but also the story behind the lead character. However, my character does not fit either of these stereotypes, he is just a normal guy who has been dragged into a bad situation. This does not add much depth to his character but because the protagonist is not experienced in dealing with these types of predicaments then it makes him seem more vulnerable and the audience worries more for his safety thinking that he has less of a chance of making it out of this than say a hard boiled ex-cop. The costume further enforces this point with a plain white shirt and trousers, the colour white represents innocence enforcing the idea that protagonist is helpless as well as the fact he just a regular man. This form of protagonist has been used before in films such as "Collateral" where the main character is just a simple taxi driver.
Also, since the protagonist is just a regular man it makes you wonder why the antagonist has kidnapped him it raises questions throughout that the audience wants answered such as: why has he kidnapped this man? what did the man do to deserve this? what does the antagonist gain from this? who is the antagonist? The antagonist himself is fairly typical and could be compared to the antagonist from "Saw" as he is not seen only heard through a phone. This heightens the mystery surrounding the antagonist and even making you fear him in some ways.
The music and lighting are very typical of a thriller as they keep up the eery and frightening atmosphere. The music heightens or stops completely at particular points in order to draw interest to certain objects such as the box or phone, and towards the end the music builds up and up until it reaches a big finish. The lighting is dark and mysterious enforcing the idea that the protagonist is trapped in an abandoned room all alone adding more fear and suspense.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Gender is partly represented in my opening as the main character is male, he is quite helpless in the situation he is in, this could be seen as a way of turning gender stereotypes on their head as women are usually represented as the helpless ones. Social groups are not represented in my opening as the protagonist is around 25-30 years old.
The character himself may help to attract more women viewers due the altering of traditional stereotypes, however, my target audience is males aged 18-30. The film is not female dominated making men more likely to go see it. The majority of men will also be able to relate to the character as like him they are just normal people, this will allow them to understand his helplessness. Also the fact that the protagonist is shown to have a girlfriend/wife it might encourage men with chivalrous personalities to go see the film, as like the main character they will understand how important protecting your loved ones is.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The film is both low budget and British so it would likely be distributed by a similar institution such as Film 4. Due to both the budget and actors its likely that American audiences, who are used to high budget films with well known actors/actresses, would be less impressed by the movie. Hollywood studios are very unlikely to distribute the film as well, since no big name Hollywood Directors or actors are featured in it. On the other hand British audiences are used to films with low budgets but usually high achievments such as "Hot Fuzz" and "Slumdog Millionaire", both films also have actors easily recognisable to their audience and even introduce new ones.
If Film 4 was to distribute my film then they could post it on their website as it contains a whole page dedicated to film clips as well as a films on demand section where anyone can rent films to watch on their computer. These are all uses of web 2.0 and would help my opening to cater to audiences in a much easier way. Film 4 could also air my opening on their channel, however, in order for it to be seen by my target audience it would have to be aired at certain times likely from 7pm - 10pm a.k.a "The Watershed", making it a less effective form of distribution than web 2.0.
http://www.film4.com/
Web 2.0 and TV are the best ways for my opening to be distributed as it allows for the film to be accessed at any time on the internet, and the TV will help reach out to my target audience, on top of this it doesnt cost much to fund and so will not economically effect Film 4 that much.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The story and character of my opening are mostly targeted at males aged 18-30. I have decided on this based on information I have gathered using the websites 'Pearl and Dean' and 'IMBD'. I used both of these websites to find films that were similar to mine and see what types of audience that those films attracted the most of.
I compared my opening to the films 'Taken', 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Saw' because of their similarities with my openings camera work, editing and plot. 'Taken' is the first film that I compared to my opening, its main target audience were males aged from 15-30 years old. 'The Deer Hunter' was most likely targeting middle young adult or middle aged males due to the films 18 certificate which it was given due to its mature content. The final film I compared to my opening was 'Saw', the majority of people who went to see it were males aged from 15-24.
Since my film is a crime thriller it will need to cater to a slightly older audience range than that of 'Taken' while at the same time still managing to attracting younger viewers like 'Saw'. I have done this by having a mysterious plot to keep older audiences hooked while including references to violence and a character who is a young adult allowing younger audiences to still be interested.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The age certificate for my film is 18, and so because of this my target audience are aged 18-30. The films plot is quite mysterious and would need an older mind to understand it better. Also the main character is a young adult aged from 25-30 which allows my target audience to connect with him as he is likely close to their age and they might understand his fear in this situation. Typical thriller conventions also help to build up suspense such as an anonymous antagonist, eerie music and low lighting. The close up shots of the protagonists face are the most effective as they show the despair and anger he is feeling. Also since the audience know just as much about what is going on as the protagonist, then they feel they are in a similar situation to him and begin to fear for him more. However, the opening would not be suitable for children as there are references to violence and weapons, also the scream the protagonist makes at the end of the video will likely be too much young children. Males are likely to come see the film as the lead character is male, but since the protagonist is not a typical thriller hero then it may gain some women viewers as well, especially since women are usually represented as the helpless ones instead of men.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
For the majority of my shots the camera had to be still in order for the viewer to be able to focus on certain objects such as the gun, the phone and the box. This made the tripod essential as it was the best way for the shots to be filmed without the worry of moving the camera by accident. There were some issues I had where the tripod was too big to be setup properly in the small shed, however, this problem was easily solved after I moved around the mess that was cluttering the shed. The cameras automatic light also made filming easier as there was little natural light inside the shed which made seeing certain objects more difficult, but the light solved this easy as whenever the area being filmed was too dark the light would just flip on.
The level of quality that the camera recorded the sound with was very good and helped when the protagonist was speaking his lines. Unfortunately because the camera's sound quality is so good it sometimes recorded background noises such as birds chirping.
In order to piece the film together I had to use Final Cut Pro a piece of video editing software. At first the program was quite confusing with its vast amount of editing options. However, I only had to make use of certain ones such as the options to cut scenes into pieces, trim the length of scenes and edit background music/sound. The sound editing options in particular became useful when I decided to take the antagonists origional lines and replace them with new recordings I had made. Inserting sound into Final Cut Pro was a small problem as only mp3 files could be uploaded onto youtube, but it was easy to convert the files to this format by changing the file name.
GarageBand was also a very useful software program that I put to use when I was creating the soundtrack for the opening. Just like when I was using Final Cut Pro I at first found the mass amount of options to be confusing. But after a while of using it I managed to become accustomed to its functions. The program allowed me to create suspenseful music as well as add certain needed sound effects.
Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
My thriller does deviate from typical thriller conventions by having a protagonists who does not fit the stereotypical look of a thriller protagonist. Usually thriller protagonists are stereotyped as either tough hardened people who have seen plenty of violence and other horrible things, or as people who have a dark and mysterious past, this allows audiences to become more involved in a thrillers story as not only are they trying to figure out the main plot but also the story behind the lead character. However, my character does not fit either of these stereotypes, he is just a normal guy who has been dragged into a bad situation. This does not add much depth to his character but because the protagonist is not experienced in dealing with these types of predicaments then it makes him seem more vulnerable and the audience worries more for his safety thinking that he has less of a chance of making it out of this than say a hard boiled ex-cop. The costume further enforces this point with a plain white shirt and trousers, the colour white represents innocence enforcing the idea that protagonist is helpless as well as the fact he just a regular man. This form of protagonist has been used before in films such as "Collateral" where the main character is just a simple taxi driver.
Also, since the protagonist is just a regular man it makes you wonder why the antagonist has kidnapped him it raises questions throughout that the audience wants answered such as: why has he kidnapped this man? what did the man do to deserve this? what does the antagonist gain from this? who is the antagonist? The antagonist himself is fairly typical and could be compared to the antagonist from "Saw" as he is not seen only heard through a phone. This heightens the mystery surrounding the antagonist and even making you fear him in some ways.
The music and lighting are very typical of a thriller as they keep up the eery and frightening atmosphere. The music heightens or stops completely at particular points in order to draw interest to certain objects such as the box or phone, and towards the end the music builds up and up until it reaches a big finish. The lighting is dark and mysterious enforcing the idea that the protagonist is trapped in an abandoned room all alone adding more fear and suspense.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Gender is partly represented in my opening as the main character is male, he is quite helpless in the situation he is in, this could be seen as a way of turning gender stereotypes on their head as women are usually represented as the helpless ones. Social groups are not represented in my opening as the protagonist is around 25-30 years old.
The character himself may help to attract more women viewers due the altering of traditional stereotypes, however, my target audience is males aged 18-30. The film is not female dominated making men more likely to go see it. The majority of men will also be able to relate to the character as like him they are just normal people, this will allow them to understand his helplessness. Also the fact that the protagonist is shown to have a girlfriend/wife it might encourage men with chivalrous personalities to go see the film, as like the main character they will understand how important protecting your loved ones is.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The film is both low budget and British so it would likely be distributed by a similar institution such as Film 4. Due to both the budget and actors its likely that American audiences, who are used to high budget films with well known actors/actresses, would be less impressed by the movie. Hollywood studios are very unlikely to distribute the film as well, since no big name Hollywood Directors or actors are featured in it. On the other hand British audiences are used to films with low budgets but usually high achievments such as "Hot Fuzz" and "Slumdog Millionaire", both films also have actors easily recognisable to their audience and even introduce new ones.
If Film 4 was to distribute my film then they could post it on their website as it contains a whole page dedicated to film clips as well as a films on demand section where anyone can rent films to watch on their computer. These are all uses of web 2.0 and would help my opening to cater to audiences in a much easier way. Film 4 could also air my opening on their channel, however, in order for it to be seen by my target audience it would have to be aired at certain times likely from 7pm - 10pm a.k.a "The Watershed", making it a less effective form of distribution than web 2.0.
http://www.film4.com/
Web 2.0 and TV are the best ways for my opening to be distributed as it allows for the film to be accessed at any time on the internet, and the TV will help reach out to my target audience, on top of this it doesnt cost much to fund and so will not economically effect Film 4 that much.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The story and character of my opening are mostly targeted at males aged 18-30. I have decided on this based on information I have gathered using the websites 'Pearl and Dean' and 'IMBD'. I used both of these websites to find films that were similar to mine and see what types of audience that those films attracted the most of.
I compared my opening to the films 'Taken', 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Saw' because of their similarities with my openings camera work, editing and plot. 'Taken' is the first film that I compared to my opening, its main target audience were males aged from 15-30 years old. 'The Deer Hunter' was most likely targeting middle young adult or middle aged males due to the films 18 certificate which it was given due to its mature content. The final film I compared to my opening was 'Saw', the majority of people who went to see it were males aged from 15-24.
Since my film is a crime thriller it will need to cater to a slightly older audience range than that of 'Taken' while at the same time still managing to attracting younger viewers like 'Saw'. I have done this by having a mysterious plot to keep older audiences hooked while including references to violence and a character who is a young adult allowing younger audiences to still be interested.
How did you attract/address your audience?
The age certificate for my film is 18, and so because of this my target audience are aged 18-30. The films plot is quite mysterious and would need an older mind to understand it better. Also the main character is a young adult aged from 25-30 which allows my target audience to connect with him as he is likely close to their age and they might understand his fear in this situation. Typical thriller conventions also help to build up suspense such as an anonymous antagonist, eerie music and low lighting. The close up shots of the protagonists face are the most effective as they show the despair and anger he is feeling. Also since the audience know just as much about what is going on as the protagonist, then they feel they are in a similar situation to him and begin to fear for him more. However, the opening would not be suitable for children as there are references to violence and weapons, also the scream the protagonist makes at the end of the video will likely be too much young children. Males are likely to come see the film as the lead character is male, but since the protagonist is not a typical thriller hero then it may gain some women viewers as well, especially since women are usually represented as the helpless ones instead of men.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
For the majority of my shots the camera had to be still in order for the viewer to be able to focus on certain objects such as the gun, the phone and the box. This made the tripod essential as it was the best way for the shots to be filmed without the worry of moving the camera by accident. There were some issues I had where the tripod was too big to be setup properly in the small shed, however, this problem was easily solved after I moved around the mess that was cluttering the shed. The cameras automatic light also made filming easier as there was little natural light inside the shed which made seeing certain objects more difficult, but the light solved this easy as whenever the area being filmed was too dark the light would just flip on.
The level of quality that the camera recorded the sound with was very good and helped when the protagonist was speaking his lines. Unfortunately because the camera's sound quality is so good it sometimes recorded background noises such as birds chirping.
In order to piece the film together I had to use Final Cut Pro a piece of video editing software. At first the program was quite confusing with its vast amount of editing options. However, I only had to make use of certain ones such as the options to cut scenes into pieces, trim the length of scenes and edit background music/sound. The sound editing options in particular became useful when I decided to take the antagonists origional lines and replace them with new recordings I had made. Inserting sound into Final Cut Pro was a small problem as only mp3 files could be uploaded onto youtube, but it was easy to convert the files to this format by changing the file name.
GarageBand was also a very useful software program that I put to use when I was creating the soundtrack for the opening. Just like when I was using Final Cut Pro I at first found the mass amount of options to be confusing. But after a while of using it I managed to become accustomed to its functions. The program allowed me to create suspenseful music as well as add certain needed sound effects.
Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The research that I did for my thriller was essential. It was due to the research I conducted that I was able to take ideas from particular films and import then into my opening, this allowed me to think of a plot to my thriller as well as establish the types of shots, edits and sound needed to make a great thriller. The research also helped to figure out the genre of the film which was crime thriller and the typical conventions associated with this form of thriller, allowing it to be easier for the audience to recognise my film as a thriller. This research into similar films also helped me to construct an idea of what my target audience would be, allowing me to take this information and alter the film accordingly so as to appeal to that target audience.
The storyboard and screenplay helped quite a bit as well, helping me to map out how each shot would look and the speach/sound effects needed. It made what actions the character had to perform more clear and easy to understand let alone perform. My understanding of camera shots has also improved as well, such as my use of close ups and over the shouler shots in order to either clearly show a characters facial expressions or actions as well as particular important items. My profficiency with programs such as GarageBand and Final Cut Pro has also improved quite a lot from when I started, as I origionally knew very little about how to opperate either program. GarageBand in particular allowed me to think of which pieces of music are actually suitable for a thriller and which are not.
In conclusion I believe my opening was a success as it managed to fit thriller conventions and appeal to target audiences. My only complaint is that the time restriction of two minutes that has been given to my video is unnecessary and prevents the audience from seeing the film in its full glory as it removes some of the scenes that made plenty of tension and suspense.
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